‘Burning desire’: Tedesco conquers his final frontier
George Clarke |
Motivated by daily reminders of legendary Sydney Roosters skippers of the past, an emotional James Tedesco has described winning a premiership as captain as the last “burning desire” of his career.
The Roosters great was close to weeping late on Sunday as he realised there were no more worlds left to conquer.
Tedesco was named the winner of the Clive Churchill Medal as the man of the match in Sunday’s 19-18 win over Newcastle at Accor Stadium.
Roosters players celebrated long into the early hours of Monday morning at Easts Bondi Junction before fronting a fan day at the SCG.
Tedesco received a hero’s reception in front of a small legion of Roosters fans on Monday morning after claiming his third premiership to go along with his growing list of individual gongs.
The 33-year-old now boasts a resume that is only comparable with that of Nathan Cleary among active players, with Tedesco having won every major accolade the NRL has to offer.
A player of the series in State of Origin and a two-time Dally M medallist, Tedesco capped his incredible form with a recall to the Kangaroos set-up.
“I think that was definitely a goal of mine since taking over, I wanted to win a premiership as captain,” an emotional Tedesco said.
“It’s pretty clear and around our offices there’s pictures of the great captains who won a premiership with the club.
“That was probably the last thing I wanted to do in my career. That was a burning desire for me.
“You think captaincy, just be yourself but it’s a great honour and the feeling of leading the team, this great club, to a premiership … I wasn’t emotional in 2018 and 2019 but the emotion is different this time around.”
Tedesco’s renaissance to win the 2025 Dally M and this year’s Clive Churchill follows a period when he lost his stranglehold on the NSW and Australia Test fullback jerseys.
But he showed he remains without peer with a Herculean display in the victory over Newcastle, chalking up 305m from 25 carries and weathering an aerial bombardment from the Knights.
“He just had to grind and ground and Ted doesn’t usually look fatigued, but he was in the red,” said coach Trent Robinson, who gifted departing utility Connor Watson his premiership ring after he was ruled out of the grand final with concussion.
“Ted’s done a lot in his career. He’s worked so hard to captain a grand final-winning team and to get the Clive Churchill, I couldn’t be happier for him.”
Tedesco’s efforts helped pave the way for his side to claim their first title in seven years.
The Roosters are a club which demands success but underwent a sizeable roster shake-up at the end of 2024 which yielded dividends on Sunday.
“It’s taken us a while to get back here and I know we have a slogan, ‘play for premierships’, and it’s there, and you can feel that,” Robinson said.
Among those to feel vindicated with the victory on Sunday was prop Spencer Leniu, who has now won four premierships across his time with Penrith and the Roosters.
Leniu, long rumoured to be heading to Parramatta next season, sported all four rings on his left hand as he celebrated victory.
“I think this (premiership) is a bit more special to me because I came to this club in a rebuild phase,” the prop said.
“It didn’t work out exactly how everyone planned it … but at the end of the day, we got a premiership.
“It’s such a special club, and I would encourage anyone who’s wanting to come here to come experience it because it’s second to none.”
AAP